Biden gives nod to Israeli demands in talks on U.S. defense aid

March 9, 2016 11:09 AM

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JERUSALEM Israel's regional military clout should be preserved in terms of the quantity as well as the quality of its weaponry, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden said on Wednesday in a nod to Israeli requests in defense aid negotiations with Washington.

Current U.S. military grants to Israel, worth about $3 billion annually, expire in 2018. The allies want to agree on an extension before U.S. President Barack Obama leaves office in January 2017 but have differed over the proposed sums.